LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

Although I would consider my lifestyle to be rather balanced and healthy, I often refrain from participating in sport activities because I prefer to allocate time on other aspects such as music. Therefore, the physical education classes that were already ingrained in the school curriculum were my only form of staying active. However, when grade 11 came, I had become so used to the weekly routine of PE classes that I realised it was difficult for me to take initiative and stay active. Furthermore, I am not necessarily good at/enjoy a specific sport so in some sense I had much more freedom to choose what I could do and ultimately I decided to work out at the gym (30 minute sessions 3 times a week). Not only would I be able to work at my own pace and try activities that I believe are suitable for my physical capabilities/level, but I also believe that it would be a nice way to identify growth, which would essentially motive me to push myself.

Since I am not someone that takes initiative to go to the gym on a regular basis, it was important for me to identify my physical capabilities. Firstly, I had to decide what kind of fitness I wanted to focus on and the types of exercises I would do. I ultimately decided to go with continuous training and to focus on cardiovascular endurance because I want to work on my stamina, therefore I chose to walk and run on the treadmill. Although this was only the first few sessions, I noticed that running in a controlled environment brings certain benefits as opposed to going outside to run. Since my goal is to increase my stamina, I realised that running on a treadmill forces me to keep up with the speed I set which pushes me to continue running. Furthermore, working out at the gym allows me to be active regardless of the weather. I think the activity is meaningful because I am able to allocate some time on my physical well being and by increasing my stamina; this may be helpful in real life because I live in the city where walking is essential to get around places. So far throughout this process, I have become a stronger self manager as I have been able to add another factor in my after school life apart from school work and hobbies and I hope I can maintain this balance as the workload becomes more demanding.